An all too rare moment of lucidity on this site. Kudos to you, Sir.

I deal with reality on a daily basis and I take responsibility for myself. I don't use hard times as an excuse to suck the blood form others, I suck it up and continue until I can get back on top.

I have endured the hardballs. I have gone from amongst the top percentile of earners to over a year unemployed when unemployment expired after 6 months, cost me everything I owned and my kids had to tighten belts and trudge on. I started again at minimum wage but I beat it and came back. That period taught me a valuable lesson, if I can't pay for it, I don't need it, the creed of a prudent man.

So don't plead to me about how hard it is, been there and done that. Now I live my live in a very modest fashion and now will be purchasing the home I will leave as a legacy, mostly cash of course and the only credit will be paid off in less than two years, immediately if need be but I like keeping a contingency fund.

So don't tell me it can't be done, I've done it. The only ones that can't are those that would rather have the handouts and will use any excuses to account for it.

Sir tragedies do happen in life and my condolences on losing a loved one. That is never easy especially with such a young one.

And again my condolences on your personal tragedy, but life is like that, it never rains that it pours. But let's face reality, you would not need government assistance if the government had not screwed up the charitable institutions that were there long before them. They quite amply were able to address the ills that could be bestowed upon neighbors and friends and did an outstanding job. In fact so good they usually had more than was needed. But now that is no longer true, most people feel that with the government stealing so much from them, let the government handle it, albeit even inadequately.

But denial is those that believe the government has the right to do what they do, they don't and you know it. How many times have they messed up with their bureaucratic crap. And then look at those capable of caring for themselves that rob the system at the people's expense, yours most of the time rather than ours.

The only thing, according to Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and Carter Woodson; Welfare = Slavery. - I do believe that those men knew what they were talking about.

Then there's the proverb, "Hunger teaches the lazy to work;" and please don't bring up forced work with starvation as that is not what that proverb address, but rather "Like a door on its hinges, is the lazy on his bed."

yes, but lets stop equating poverty with laziness

plenty of people who are willing and need to work and people who are working are still impoverished,,,

I never had trouble finding work; I've cleaned houses, done landscaping, strip danced, installed cable tv, worked a Help Desk, waited tables and other kinds of work as I work for myself and merely see my employer as my client.

Never took Welfare=Slavery (Not even Unemployment) as I always considered earning my own money as being better. And please, don't talk about how one pays into Unemployment; it's still depending on Government for ones own needs.

My Eldest Son use to detail cars to pay his way through trade school, now he's earning over $11hr from a Maintenance Company who is paying for his schooling as he signed a contract to remain with them for three years after graduation as his pay would go to a min of $17hr; it's not a job that he got by waiting on Government to provide for him.

The work is out there, and with a little bit of thinking, planning, and looking; one can find it anywhere, even if it is mowing grass in the hot sun.

all due respect

but the work is not out there 'anywhere'

not work that doesn't require some supplement (either from family or spouses or community or ,, shock and awe, government assistance)

Yeah. Just how many men can make a living by strip dancing?

lol

not to mention those caring for children alone

or without transportation or near a bus route that is near avaialable jobs,,,etc,,


situations where schedules and geography pose limitiations,,

Yes it is; if I lost everything that I now have today, I could find work tomorrow; maybe not a job, or even work that I'd enjoy, but work that someone would pay me money to do.

Finding work is easy if you're willing to work; I could go back to cleaning houses, strip dancing, landscaping, whatever; I will not take Welfare=Slavery.

If you go to amazon.com, you can find Life & Times of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, and the Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson for a grand total of $1.98 in e-Book format; and you will read why Dependency (Welfare) is Slavery; and Carter Woodson saw the early form of Welfare to enslave Blacks and other Poor where as Douglass and Washington how Dependency not only enslaved the Black Slaves, but also the "White Trash" of their day.

safety nets are necessary

some people have it in their community , some don't
some have it by way of their spouse or family, some don't

its great that you live somewhere where you can just go up to someone and be hired for something, but PLENTY of other people don't live in such a place

and I doubt that cleaning house would work without a working vehicle, which many don't have

and I doubt everyone is in the condition to do landscaping work
or have the schedule that will allow them to look after their kids and work evening shifts in a strip joint

skills and personal situation are not the same for everyone, and for those who don't have the environment you do, other types of supplement are needed,,,


I mean, I suppose, all the single mothers could hang out in bars and prostitute to avoid welfare too,,, but I wouldn't consider them any better a person for making that choice instead of choosing some help from assistance programs,,,,

Both of you are ignoring my point; the work is out there if one would only look; but then, even Frederick Douglass, Booker Washington, and Carter Woodson had their detractors who would rather remain ignorant than face the real world; even among the Slaves, Uneducated (Mis-Educated) Blacks, and the Poor; so it's nothing new.

not at all

I just thnk perhaps you make a huge assumption that the resources you have are the same EVERYWHERE for EVERYONE

its not the case,,

Surmar,

You are extrapolating your personal situation into a claim that everyone can have all of the opportunities that you have had.

And I still want to know just how many men can make a living by strip dancing.

I currently live in a rather rural area; but here, or in the city, with, or without a car, I can find work because I will not take Welfare=Slavery. I taught that work ethic to my children as my Daughter (Who is single) works two jobs (An Office Job, and working in a Bakery part-time) as my youngest, who is 15yrs Old, works for his father when he's out of School; no Snow Days for him from work as he rides around with his Father checking properties for repairs in the bitter cold.

I think it helps the situation a lot that the FATHER Is financially involved,,,thats not the case for MANY people

sounds like you have made your choices, and that's fine



I don't think they are any better or worse than the choices those make who accept assistance

There are Male Strip Bars, both Gay & Straight; so I would guess a number of Fine Looking Guys could find such a job.

I'm going on Principle as all that I have is a GED as my parents (Who hadn't work an honest day that I ever knew about) soaked Welfare for all that they could get, and sent me off to Mexico to stay with relatives with I was 15. They thought that they were being "Smart," now on Social Security (Which doesn't pay nearly enough) they look to me to make up for what they don't get; they could spend me back into poverty three times over if I'd let them.

Yes, I did make chooses; some good, others bad, but I will not take Welfare=Slavery.
I will not become a Slave to the Government as I own my own person, my own labor, and the property that I had earned through my labor. I'm not willing to surrender any of it by taking Welfare.

welfare in America has been limited since the nineties with Clinton, IM not sure when your parents milked it but its much harder now

with caps from 3-5 years MAX PER LIFETIME on most types of 'welfare'(the type people mostly complain about for children and food )

my parents both had degrees and I worked since I was 18 , accepting assistance for three months after my first marriage broke up and I looked for work and childcare and work that would pay for the childcare


and more than 20 years later I found myself needing assistance again after being laid off from my job (unemployment) seeking work the whole time , volunteering in positions to keep up work experience, and still not FINDING gainful employment for THREE YEARS,, during which time I also needed 'welfare' after a second marriage broke up and I was left without the resource to cover the rent and the childcare for our child

people fall sometimes, and it often has nothing to do with how willing they are to 'work' that they turn to assistance

really? cause I feel just as much a 'slave' to employers who set a low wage and hold my livelihood hostage in return for having control of my schedule, switching it at their whim, and expecting a level of asskissing that usually goes beyond the job requirements posted,,,


I have to balance being a MOM to my kids , being there for them in body just as much as I am in paychecks,,,

so , yeah, when the choice has been to ask for some 'welfare' to buy the time needed to find the appropriate job for my familys needs, I have taken it,,


Id rather the type of 'slavery' that provides, than he type that just wears me down emotionally and physically and sacrifices my family being able to be a family,,,